Big Lagoon woman missing since 2012 ID'd as person found in submerged car

Almost exactly two years after she disappeared while driving home from Oregon, a missing Big Lagoon woman has been identified as the person who was found in a car submerged under the waters of Freshwater Lagoon earlier this month.

Katherine Iva Gillham, 42, who was reported missing by her family in June 2012, was identified through dental records on June 24, Humboldt County Deputy Coroner Roy Horton said Thursday.

Three people out fishing on June 18 spotted Gillham's 2004 Mitsubishi SUV — which became visible due to a recent drop in water levels — about 40 feet east of the shoreline.

Horton said the coroner's part of the investigation is closed, and Gillham's death was found to be consistent with drowning.

"Though, she's been in the water for two years, so it's hard to know for sure," Horton said. "There was no trauma to her body that would correlate to the accident. After I left the scene, I made contact with her family. They were sure it was her, and we were 99.9 percent sure it was her, but we had to confirm through dental records. This brings to a close a case that's a couple of years old, and brings a sense of relief to her family. They can put it behind them knowing that she's been recovered."

California Highway Patrol Officer Matt Harvey said the CHP investigation shows the accident happened around 2:30 a.m. on June 11, 2012. It appears Gillham was driving southbound on U.S. Highway 101 when she veered toward the east, across the northbound lane, and into the lagoon.

"We know the car was definitely driving southbound. We don't have any suspicion of foul play. The driver of the vehicle possibly fell asleep, however, we'll never know exactly why it went off the road. There are no witnesses to take statements from, unfortunately," Harvey said. "At this point, we're not ready to release any kind of information regarding such things as whether or not the car had mechanical failures. The fatal collision report is still being investigated. This is a very unfortunate situation, and hopefully the investigation can bring some closure to the deceased's family."

The California Highway Patrol, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office and the Humboldt County Coroner's Office have all been involved in the investigation.

Humboldt County Sheriff's Office Lt. Wayne Hanson said if the autopsy shows the death was caused by a traffic accident or drowning — and there are no signs of foul play — then the office will not continue in the investigation.

"With missing person investigations, we try to find the people. If someone is reported missing, the information goes into national database and we do everything we can to locate them," he said.

Fortuna resident Kody Ables said he, his girlfriend and his friend were fishing at the lagoon for about an hour before they looked down into the water and saw the top rack of the car.

"We thought it was white because of the sun and algae on it. Then, we noticed the windshield and the whole car. We couldn't see through the windshield because it was packed with silt and stuff. You don't expect to see a car at the bottom of a lagoon, it was shocking," Ables said, adding that they immediately called the CHP. "We watched the car get pulled out and the officers closed the area as a crime scene."